Presentation given at Biodiversity Informatics Horizons 2013 conference, Rome 6 Sept 2013

1. Paul Jepson, Aaike De Wever & Astrid Schmidt-Kloiber
Data mobilisation from the
BioFresh perspective:
past, present & future visions
Co. 226874
Freshwater biodiversity status, trends
pressure and conservation priorities

2. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
BioFresh in the Network of EU F7
Biodiversity Research
• Green = BioFresh
partners
• BioFresh close to
dense centre, but on
the periphery of the
centre.
• Network maps may
identify potential for
collaboration

3. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
Freshwaters cover less than 1%
of the Earth’s surface yet are
home to over 10% of all animal
species
Dudgeon et al. 2006
They possess immense natural
capital in terms of the range and
significance of ecosystem
services
Freshwater Biodiversity needs attention
But, freshwater biodiversity is
declining at an alarming rate

4. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
Water resource scarcity is
considered a major threat to the
security of social and economic
systems
A water-energy-food nexus is
gaining influence as a
framework for conceptualizing
policies to guide transitions
towards green economies.
Biodiversity is not yet in this
frame in any meaningful way
Water Lives: but not yet in policy

5. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
A real and pressing challenge is
how to simultaneously manage
freshwaters as a resource for
humanity and as medium for life."
Going with the flow
Our ability to answer broad scale
scientific questions on the status
and trends in freshwater
biodiversity is hampered by the
limited and fragmented data"
Freshwater biodiversity and
sound policy needs
biodiversity informatics!!

6. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
The BioFresh project commenced in April
2010 to respond to this need
18 partners
9 Work-packages
www.freshwaterbiodiversity.eu

7. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
Long tail, great potential
Plot of the citations in Web of Science and Scopus for the
contributing data sets to BioFresh's data-portal (2012)"
Like many informatics
project we have
encountered the long
tail of ‘dark data’"

8. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
What freshwater biodiversity data are out
there?
• We only have a vague idea but know that large amounts are
currently unavailable.
• Case study: GBIF has mobilised 3% of natural history
collections data. Of 1200 possible data sets only 17 data sets
predominantly freshwater specific. - must be more out there.
• Additional data we ‘know’ exists, but is hard to get our hands
on is data collected by environmental agencies, under the
WFD monitoring and in EIA reports. This is because there is
no directory and/or its stored in government departments.
In our view such facts underline the need for a freshwater
biodiversity focused data mobilisation effort

9. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
Data mobilisation: what are we at?
We have been actively reaching out
to data holders and other
networks
• Meta-databases for freshwater
databases : 162 entries (54 under
quality control), 100 more currently
being integrated (mostly collected
during WISER)
• Links to relevant data (e.g. GBIF) al
• Supporting 26 digitisation &
mobilisation projects (contingency
fund)
• Assisting data holders to prepare
their data for on-line publication
0"
10"
20"
30"
40"
50"
60"
70"
80"
90"
100"
BioFresh"related"
datasets"
external"datasets" con;ngency"fund"
datasets"
GBIF"freshwater"
datasets"

10. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
Around
20
datasets
have
been
commissioned
through
the
BioFresh
con7ngency
fund
Example
1:
distribu7on
data
of
European
caddisflies
• 66
contributors
adding
580,000
occurrences
(addi5onal
to
GBIF
data)
–
420,000
from
adults
• Significance:
Group
is
key
environmental
indicator
previously
unavailable.
Will
form
the
basis
of
a
Red
List
of
Caddis
Flies
Example
2:
Fish
distribu7on
data
• 9
con5ngency
fund
datasets,
covering
13
countries
,
adding
250,000
species
occurrences
• Significance:
Comple5ng
spa5al
gaps
–
European
wide
analysis
of
scien5fic
ques5on
rela5ng
to
fish
now
possible
Example
3:
FADA
con7ngency
fund
• Extension
of
taxonomic
backbone
with
around
30,000
names
of
macro-­‐invertebrate
species
• Significance:
enables
linking
to
and
harves5ng
of
other
sources
New data sets digitized & mobilized

11. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
Some nice applied science outputs now
emerging
Identification of Key
Biodiversity Areas for
Africa a major output

12. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
Mobilising data has proved difficult
• Convincing data holders to contribute data is often not
straightforward
• Tedious process to obtain metadata, involving a lot of
contacting work, even for project partners’ datasets
• Filling out information ourselves improved response rates, but
is obviously time-consuming
• Especially difficult was integrating datasets e.g. water
framework directive (inter-calibration challenges)
• Processing datasets further involves frequent email exchange
with data holders, esp. when we prepare the data (for
publication using GBIF’s Integrated Publishing Toolkit)

13. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
Barriers to contributing to the BioFresh
Portal: a survey of data owners
• Funding provision: funding unavailable for data curation, so no one is
tasked with maintaining or making the data public."
• Incompatible technology: data stored in defunct, or difficult to integrate
formats. Or, in a known format, but the scientist who put it together is no longer
available (retired/RIP!) so data meaning lost."
• Early career researchers: Not keen on sharing data, as it has been
painstakingly collected during their PhD, and they want to publish it and get as
publications as possible from it, before it is shared with others."
• Time: scientists are increasingly busy and under resourced, as such they don't
have time to clean and categorize data (applying metadata) for a mass
audience. "
• Reward structures of science: not calibrated to support data sharing and
re-use"
• Commercial imperatives: data part funded by water companies,
pharmaceutical companies etc. Open data is not their paradigm and data
ownership is often at a company rather than an individual level"
Cf. Tenopir, C. et al. (2012) Data Sharing by Scientists: Practices and Perceptions. PlosONE 6: 1-21

14. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
Biodiversity informatics is an interdisciplinary
science
Mobilizing data and constructing data networks is not
simply a technological and resourcing challenge"
"
It has complex science sociology!
and culture dimensions!
!
This aspect is largely over-looked in"
Hardisty & Roberts Decadal View"

15. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
“Science Friction”: a metaphor and conceptual
framework for embracing the social in informatics
• ‘Science friction’ : ‘the difficulties
encountered when two scientific disciplines (or
data holders) try to interoperate.’
• ‘Data friction’: ‘Every movement of data
across an interface comes at some cost in
time, energy, and human attention... In social
systems, data friction consumes energy and
produces turbulence and heat - that is,
conflicts, disagreements, and inexact, unruly
processes.’
• ‘Lubrication’: the practices through which
people overcome friction without precise
solutions or the need to modify components
• ‘Precision’: making it possible to join one part
(dataset) more perfectly to another one (data
standards)
Edwards, P et al. (2011) Science friction: Data, metadata, and collaboration.
Social Studies of Science 41:667-690

16. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
Our effort at ‘lubrication’ hasn’t yet been a
great success!
In short, encouragement is not
enough! (cf:
We envisage a special
issue on contingency fund
projects in a data journal
(e.g. Pensoft’s
Biodiversity Data Journal)

17. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
So what about this cultural shift?
• Is a cultural shift towards scientists embracing the
principles of data access, sharing and reuse really
taking hold?
• Is this a generational shift or could be it be
accelerated?
• What’s the strategy – our theory of change?

18. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
Some options in our minds
• Data publishing gets similar status to other forms of publishing (??)
• Actively learn from our fund-raising and NGO campaign lobbying
colleagues – i.e. techniques of relationship building, profiling and
coalition building
Tip: email last. Be a person, be prepared to roam and smooch to
capture data.
• Actively learn from industry associations. E.g. Could National
Science Academies produce best-practice standards for research
institutions in same was as IMCO does for mining corporations
• Normalise data sharing principles in post-graduate training. EU
(and UK in particular is a global centre and leader in Biodiversity
PGT

19. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
The H2020 scientist & policy professional
Disciplinary
knowledge
Professional
friends
Core
specialism
Interdisciplinary
breadth

20. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
Thinking ahead… and ambitiously!
To what extent is biodiversity informatics conceptualized and
enacted in 4th wave internet computing?"
"
How do we conceptualize biodiversity informatics in terms of 5th
wave mobile computing and responding to the technological
forces of ‘mobile’ ‘cloud’, ‘social’ and ‘big data’?"
"
Might a shift in focus from mobilizing legacy data towards
generating contemporary data face less ‘science friction’ and
improve data density more rapidly?"
"
Might adding a focus on citizen science and automated sensing
support simultaneous developments in science-policy-
management interfaces?"

21. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
Biodiversity Informatics - extended vision
Bigger science : better policy : effective governance
Crowd-
identification
Engagemen
t media
NGO data
Individual’s
data
Gov data
Museum data
Res.Inst. data
Super
computer
muscle
Cloud utility
computing
Smartphone
Citizen
interpreter
s
Citizen
data
collectors
App 2.0
App
Supersize
Policy
3.0
Device
Re-mastered
Teaching
Resources
Research
Resources
Decision
support
tools
Real
Science
online
Decision
support
visualisation
s
Citizen
recording
Platform
PortalPortal
Mobile device
Sensing
2.0
Automation,
Minaturisation,
networks DIY

22. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
Technologies for sensing biodiversity are
under-going a step-change
Research DronesMicro-sensors
Sensor networks
Our challenge is thinking
creatively and
strategically on how to
embrace and integrate
these

23. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
App-phones as rich sensors,
mobile computers and a
technological appendage of the
human body and mind
Supersize
Apps
vs.
Apps 2.0
Smartphones as efficient, low
cost and trendy delivery or
collection media
Earl. J. & Kimport, K (2011) Digitally enabled social change:
Activism in the internet age. Cambridge. MA. MIT Press
Citizen science is expanding but needs
research investment to undergo a step-change

24. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
Jepson & Ladle in prep Conservation in the App-age
Scrape of Google play = 7400 apps.
• Scrape of Google play = ca. 7400 apps
• Probably <120 data mobilisation apps
• Probably <10 App 2.0
• Automatically identifies cicada plus 6
grasshopper species
• Walk, ride and sense
• Alert if senses a target species
New Forest Cicada Hunt
Survey of Nature & Conservation Apps

25. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
Mobilisizing citizen science for freshwater
science
Opportunity
Many and varied communities of practice engage with
freshwaters – government environmental agencies – anglers
– wild swimmers
Challenge
Much of what we want to record is under the surface!
Sources of inspiration
Examples of innovative partnerships with Information
Engineering (e.g. Zooniverse) & computer scientists (e.g. New
Forest cicada hunt)
Developments in App-phone hardware add-ons (e.g. water
quality sensors)

26. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
Biodiversity Informatics - extended vision
Bigger science : better policy : effective governance
Crowd-
identification
Engagemen
t media
NGO data
Individual’s
data
Gov data
Museum data
Res.Inst. data
Super
computer
muscle
Cloud utility
computing
Smartphone
Citizen
interpreter
s
Citizen
data
collectors
App 3.0
App
Supersize
Policy
3.0
Device
Re-mastered
Teaching
Resources
Research
Resources
Decision
support
tools
Real
Science
online
Decision
support
visualisation
s
Citizen
recording
Platform
PortalPortal
Mobile device
Sensing
3.0
Automation,
Minaturisation,
networks DIY

27. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
BioFresh platform:
Towards intelligent openness:
Royal Society principles
• Accessible
• Assessable
• Intelligible
• Useable
+
Science – policy
context
Decision support tools
Research information
Analysis tools
Training resources

28. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
Decision support tool:
IUCN/ESRI Freshwater biodiversity browser & Arc
GIS App
Supports
environmental impact
assessments,
conservation planning
etc.
By making IUCN data
on African fish,
mollusc, dragonfly,
crabs and freshwater
plants at sub-
catchment level
See www.biofreshblog.com

29. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
• Currently ~50 maps in various stages of implementation
• Dynamic currated atlas – anyone can contribute their nice
map
Decision support visualization:
BioFresh Atlas of Freshwater Biodiversity
Decision support visualization:
BioFresh Atlas of Freshwater Biodiversity

30. BIH2013 – September 2013 – Rome, ItalyContract No. 226874
• Freshwater is a major area of policy. Investments in
freshwater biodiversity informatics are needed to develop a
science capable of meeting policy needs
• Mobilizing freshwater data sets has proved difficult.
• We need add and adopt a cultural approach
• Need to further invest and reinforce the building of a
freshwater biodiversity data network
• Looking forward we need to explore and respond to the
potential associated with the transformations in science and
society resulting from new technological forces
• We need to simultaneously conceptualize the design of open-
access, on-line science-policy-management platforms
Summary